Flat start for Canadian men’s volleyball team against Czech Republic

ZVITAVY, Czech Republic – Canada’s national men’s volleyball team lost to the Czech Republic on Tuesday 25-23, 25-22, 27-25 to open a three match series between the two world championship-bound squads.

Canada, ranked 20th in the world, and the Czechs, ranked 36th, are tuning up for the FIVB World Championships set for September 25 to October 10 in Italy.

‘’It was a pretty average performance for us,’’ said Canada’s national team coach Glenn Hoag of Gatineau, Que. ‘’We should be superior to them and we didn’t play at our highest level and lacked judgement on our plays.’’

Hoag mentioned the strong performance of Fred Winters of Victoria who led the team with 16 points with 14 kills, one ace and a stuff while Gavin Schmitt of Saskatoon added nine with seven kills and two aces. Canadian university player Justin Duff of Winnipeg also played well coming off the bench.

The Canadians and Czech meet again on Wednesday in Chocen and back in Zvitavy on Thursday. Following the series, Canada heads to Bled, Slovenia for its final preparations for the worlds.

Note: The Canadian women’s team three match series in Costa Rica was cancelled due to the outbreak of Dengue fever in the Central American nation.

Canadian roster for the men’s world volleyball championships September 25-October 10 in Italy.